


History

by Tigergirl1223



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2020-03-08 05:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18887893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigergirl1223/pseuds/Tigergirl1223
Summary: Melendez and Lim’s years in residency.





	1. First Day

It was Melendez’s first day as a resident at San Jose St Bonaventure Hospital. He couldn’t wait to begin this new adventure in his life and he was willing to work hard to become one of the greatest surgeons California had ever seen. It took him a while, but he finally found the locker room to place his belongings in for the time being. He straightened his tie, smoothed out his dress shirt, and adjusted his lab coat that read, ‘Neil Melendez, MD’.

Melendez made his way to the main conference room, where his three fellow residents were already seated. There was a red-headed woman, Dr. Melanie Fitzpatrick, a brunette man, Dr. Christopher Richardson, and then, he noticed the last resident. She wasn’t seated at the table at all, but instead, she was leaning against the wall. She was of Asian descent, her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was uniquely dressed. Unlike Dr. Fitzpatrick and Dr. Richardson, who were both wearing scrubs, this resident was wearing jeans and an _Avengers_ t-shirt. Her large black glasses made her look a little like some sort of _Harry Potter_ character. He glanced down at the name on her lab coat: Audrey Lim, MD.

An older gentleman interrupted Melendez’s trance, “Good morning everyone. My name is Dr. Aaron Glassman and I am the Chief of Surgery and an attending neurosurgeon here at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. This is Dr. Marcus Andrews, attending plastic surgeon, Dr. Dave Cooperberg, attending trauma surgeon, and Dr. Michael Cleland, attending cardiothoracic surgeon. I figured we could start off today with the four of you introducing yourselves to each other and giving a little bit of background about each other: where you went to medical school, what area of surgery you’re considering, etc.”

Glassman glanced at Melanie and she said, “I’m Dr. Melanie Fitzpatrick, I went to Johns Hopkins, I’m looking into pediatric surgery.”

Glassman looked at Chris and Chris said, “I’m Dr. Christopher Richardson. You can call me Chris. I went to Harvard and I want to be a neurosurgeon.”

Glassman’s eyes landed on Melendez and he said, “I’m Dr. Neil Melendez, I went to Duke, and I’d like to pursue cardiothoracic surgery.”

Everyone’s eyes landed on their final fellow resident and Melendez was particularly interested in hearing her response. She swallowed her coffee and grinned broadly, “I’m Dr. Audrey Lim. I went to Stanford and I’m hoping to become a trauma surgeon.”

“Excellent,” said Glassman, “You each will get the chance to do rotations in various departments. Towards the end of your residency, you will spend more and more time in your chosen field. But for today, two of you will go with Dr. Cooperberg in the ER and two of you will go with Dr. Cleland in the OR.”

“I’ll go with Dr. Cooperberg!” Lim volunteered.

“Alright, makes sense since you’re looking into trauma surgery, Dr. Lim. Who wants to join her?” asked Glassman.

The other three residents looked at each other before Melendez hesitantly raised his hand, “I will, sir.”

“Alright Dr. Melendez,” said Glassman, “Dr. Fitzpatrick, Dr. Richardson, you’ll be accompanying Dr. Cleland today.”

The four surgeons went their separate ways and Melendez followed Cooperberg and Lim to the ER. Melendez and Lim walked side by side, though they were both quiet, so Melendez finally asked, “So, are you an _Avengers_ fan?”

Lim looked down at her shirt and answered, “Nope. Just hate-wearing this shirt.”

“Really?” asked Melendez in surprise.

“No, you jackass. I love the _Avengers_. In fact, you’ll get to see me wearing about twenty other comic book t-shirts throughout these next five years.”

_“A smart ass like me,”_ Melendez thought to himself, “I’m Neil, by the way. Neil Melendez.”

“I know. I heard you in the conference room. I’m not deaf,” said Lim.

 _“And playing hard to get?”_ Melendez questioned to himself, _“This will be a challenge.”_ ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 

It was a tough first day of residency, but it wasn’t anything Melendez hadn’t been training for the past several years. He also couldn’t help but notice how comfortable Dr. Lim had seemed in the emergency room. She tackled every case that came through those doors head on and with a laser sharp focus that even Dr. Cooperberg didn’t seem to have. After his shift was over, he went to the locker room where Dr. Lim was already changing. She replaced her lab coat with a black leather jacket. She let her hair out of the pony tail holder and let her brown locks flow loose. She pulled a black and red helmet out of her locker, “What’s the helmet for?” Melendez asked curiously. 

Lim turned to face him and smiled, “If you come to the parking lot with me, I can show you.” 

Melendez furrowed his brow, but nodded, “Alright.”

Lim pulled a black bag out of her locker, slammed the locker door shut, swung the bag over her shoulder, and left the room. Melendez threw his lab coat into his locker and grabbed his briefcase before meeting up with Lim outside the locker room. They both silently walked to employee parking and Lim pointed to a Ducati three spots down from Melendez’s Tesla, “That’s the reason I have a helmet,” Melendez raised his eyebrows in shock. So not only was Dr. Lim a badass in the ER, she was a biker chick. Lim strutted over to the bike and laid a hand on the seat, “I call her Black Lightning.”

“Black Lightning?” asked Melendez in surprise.

“Mmhm,” Lim nodded, “Because it rides at lightning speed and Black Lightning is also one of my favorite superheroes.”

 _“Figures,”_ thought Melendez. He figured he’d be seeing Lim in a _Black Lightning_ t-shirt before the year was out, “Well, it was a good first day, Dr. Lim. It was nice meeting you.”

“You too,” she put on her helmet, “Oh, you can call me Audrey, Dr. Melendez.”

Melendez turned back to her, “Alright. Call me Neil then.” Lim nodded, started the bike, and quickly rode off. Melendez couldn’t help but watch her ride away before he got into his Tesla.


	2. First Mass Casualty Event

Over the next few months, Melendez couldn’t help but notice how comfortable Lim was in the operating room. And the emergency room. And pretty much the entire hospital in general. She would always seem so focused whenever they were assigned to a patient together and she seemed to have such a sharp focus, more so than some of their supervising attending surgeons even. Glassman had taken notice of her and usually assigned her to the ER more often than not. It seemed like the two of them were always paired together to shadow Dr. Cooperburg or Dr. Cleland. As a result, they began to pick up on each other’s quirks and habits.

Melendez noticed that Lim would park her Ducati in the same spot of the employee parking garage if it was available: third floor, fifth spot from the left facing the back of the parking garage. She would always be wearing various comic book t-shirts (though one day she had changed it up and it was a _Star Wars_ t-shirt instead). She would grab a coffee and a blueberry muffin in the cafeteria for breakfast. She would always eat the exact same meal for lunch: a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich, a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips, and a can of Sprite. She would be the one to ask the most questions during a surgery; as a result, she had the admiration from Glassman, Cooperberg, Cleland, and even Andrews. Quite frankly, it did bother Melendez sometimes, but it was only their first year as residents. He figured he would improve if he worked harder than she did. Yet, despite annoying him sometimes (with her natural talents as a surgeon and all), he found Audrey Lim incredibly alluring.

Their first mass casualty event came two months into their residency and Cooperberg called everyone into the emergency room, including Dr. Glassman and the hospital president. Since the catastrophic event was a fire at a local warehouse, the majority of patients had burn injuries, “Dr. Fitzpatrick, Dr. Richardson, you go with Dr. Cleland. Dr. Lim, Dr. Melendez, you go with Dr. Glassman,” called Cooperberg.

“What have we got?” asked Glassman as Lim and Melendez followed him.

“Patient is Kayla Jones, she’s sustained third degree burns on her chest and neck and a beam fell on her head, causing an open wound. BP is 90/60, she became unresponsive in the ambulance and she hasn’t regained consciousness since,” informed the EMT.

“Alright, Dr. Lim, Dr. Melendez, what do we focus on first?” asked Glassman.

“We focus on the head,” answered Melendez.

“No, we treat the burns. Keep her from going into shock, stabilize her vitals, give her electrolytes and antibiotics through an IV to fight off infection, control the blood loss, and make sure her organs don’t begin to fail,” informed Lim.

Glassman looked at Melendez and said, “Dr. Lim is correct.”

Melendez sighed to himself, but followed Glassman’s instructions on how to treat Kayla. They cleaned her burns and started an IV and made a plan for skin grafts to be used to cover the burns on her neck and chest. They stitched the wound on her head and gave her a medication to reduce swelling in her brain before sending her to the ICU for monitoring. They assisted with a few other patients here and there before their shifts ended. Melendez and Lim were both heading towards the locker room when Glassman stopped them, “Dr. Lim, Dr. Melendez.”

They both turned to face him, “Sir,” Lim responded.

“Nice job today. Thanks to you both, Kayla Jones will make a full recovery. Dr. Lim, nice job in regards to your knowledge on how to face mass casualty events,” commended Glassman.

Lim smiled broadly and Melendez couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, “Thank you, sir,” answered Lim.

“Now go home and get some rest. You both deserve it,” said Glassman.

“Thank you, sir,” said Melendez and turned on his heels to head towards the locker room. Lim couldn’t help but notice how tense he suddenly was, so she asked, “Is something wrong, Neil?”

“No,” Melendez lied, “Just tired. It was a long shift.”

“That it was,” she agreed. They changed out of their scrubs and into casual clothes before going to leave, though Lim stopped Melendez before he reached his Tesla, “Hey Neil?”

“Yes?” he asked.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out for drinks? It’s been a long day and I could really use a bourbon to take the edge off,” she admitted.

Melendez scowled a little, “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“No, you asshat. You’re not my type anyways. I just hate drinking alone and you’re the only person available right now. So are you in or no?”

Melendez chuckled a little and said, “Sure, I’m in.”

“Alright, meet me at Crowley’s,” Lim ordered before she buckled her helmet and sped off on her Ducati.

Melendez watched the bike speed away before she shook his head and said, “She is one bossy individual.” 


	3. First Drink

Melendez found a spot in Crowley’s parking lot and he saw Black Lightning a few spots down from him. He went inside the bar and saw Lim waiting for him, so he took a seat next to her. She was already drinking a bourbon, so he ordered one for himself and Lim got hers topped off at the same time. They didn’t say anything to each other at first, but soon, Melendez commented, “You did a really good job today,” he took a sip of his drink.

Lim sipped her Jim Bean in unison with Melendez and answered, “Thanks.”

“I mean it; I’ve never seen someone so calm in the ER before, even when I shadowed other doctors in med school,” said Melendez.

“I’m an adrenaline junkie; the ER provides a good adrenaline rush,” said Lim. She motioned for the bartender to top off her drink once again. She guzzled down a big gulp and asked, “So you went to Duke right? You an east coaster?”

“Oh no,” said Melendez, circling the rim of his glass, “I grew up in San Antonio. Both of my parents were born in Mexico and immigrated here shortly before I was born,” he said, “I really wanted to become a doctor, but my parents couldn’t afford college. I worked my ass off in high school and got a good scholarship to Duke for undergrad and worked a few jobs in college to pay for med school. How about you?”

Lim sighed and said, “Well, I spent the first eight years of my life in Taipei, Taiwan. My parents always dreamed of moving to the United States, but then my brother was born and then I was born and it took a while for all of the paperwork to go through after my father got a job here. We moved to San Francisco when I was eight. I decided I wanted to become a trauma surgeon when I was ten and I had to go to the emergency room.”

“What for?” asked Melendez, a little afraid to find out the answer.

“I was trying to do some cool skateboard tricks on a half-pipe and I fell broke my leg. Had to have surgery because they needed to reset the bones,” answered Lim so casually it was as if she was talking about the weather.

Melendez couldn’t help but chuckle, “So you’ve always had an adventurous streak?”

“Damn right I have. Just has gotten more extreme as I’ve grown,” she smirked and drank the last of her bourbon, “Well, Stanford has one of the best medical schools in the country, so I also worked my ass off to get in, and then found a great residency program here in San Jose.”

Melendez nodded, satisfied with her story, at least for now. They both decided they were hungry, so they ordered some wings and spilt the bill between them. The silence between them was killing Melendez, so he asked, “So, when you’re not working, what do you do in your spare time?”

“What spare time?” she joked and he laughed in understanding, “I love going for hikes and rides on my Ducati. If it’s the right season, my brother and I always go to a couple Giants games every year, my friend, Laura, and I do get togethers sometimes. And you?”

“I coach Little League in the spring. I like to read. But the last four years of my life have been studying, studying, and more studying.”

“Here’s to that,” Lim acknowledged.

They paid and Lim grabbed her jacket, bag, and helmet, while Melendez put on his coat. They stepped outside into the cool fall air and Melendez stuck his hands into his pockets, “Tonight was really nice. You’re not as bad as I thought you were.”

Lim glared, but smiled, “And you’re not as much of an asshole when we’re not working.”

“Did you…?” Melendez trailed off mid-sentence, “Did you want to come back to my apartment?” he stopped rambling.

Lim’s face fell and she took a deep breath before she said, “Neil, I can’t. I um…”

“Oh, we don’t have to…you know, if you don’t want to. We can just talk some more,” Melendez stuttered trying to find the right words.

“No, it’s not that,” assured Lim, “It’s just…Neil, I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh,” said Melendez surprised, “Well, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that…”

“It’s okay; you didn’t know,” said Lim.

“What’s his name?” asked Melendez hesitantly, “If you don’t mind me asking?”

“His name is Kashal. We met in college. He was an engineering physics major. We were introduced through a mutual friend our sophomore year. We’ve been together ever since. We live together and everything, it’s just that we’ve been so busy with school and life that we haven’t really had time to think about getting married.”

Melendez’s heart sunk a little when she mentioned about getting married, but he forced a smile and said, “Well, I would love to meet him some time.”

“Yeah, he’s a great guy,” said Lim, though her face and voice said otherwise, “Well, I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Lim put on her helmet.

Melendez didn’t say anything as he watched her speed away on her bike, _“So much for ever being something more,”_ he thought disappointingly to himself. 


	4. First Meeting

It had been a long day and Melendez was just getting ready to go to the locker room to change when he noticed someone leaning against the nurses’ station. He was a taller gentleman of Indian descent, well over six feet tall. He didn’t seem to be in any sort of agony or distress, but Melendez went over to him to check to make sure he was alright, “Excuse me sir. May I help you?” Melendez asked him.

The man glanced over at Melendez and shook his head, “No thank you, doctor. I’m alright. I’m just waiting for my girlfriend. She told me to meet her here.”

“Oh, okay then. Have a nice day, sir,” said Melendez.

Suddenly, Lim came into the emergency room, dressed in an _Iron Man_ t-shirt, her black leather jacket, and a pair of black jeans, “Hi,” she smiled to the man and they both kissed before she noticed Melendez, “Oh, Neil,” she said in surprise as she realized he was standing in front of them, “I see you’ve met Kashal.”

So this man was the infamous Kashal Anand? Melendez politely shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Neil Melendez.”

“Yeah, Audrey’s mentioned you,” said Kashal.

Melendez cleared his throat and said, “Well, I really should be going. It was nice meeting you, Kashal. I’ll see you later, Audrey,” Melendez quickly excused himself.

Lim took a deep breath before she grabbed Kashal’s hand and they left the hospital. Kashal didn’t say anything until they both got to his car. He was silent for a while on the drive back to their apartment building before Kashal said, “So he was the infamous Neil Melendez?”

“Yes,” confirmed Lim.

“The one who always competes with you,” said Kashal.

“Yep,” answered Lim, “But I think he means well. He competes with Dr. Richardson and Dr. Fitzpatrick too.”

“I see,” said Kashal.

“Listen,” Lim grabbed Kashal’s hand, “I know what you’re thinking. But nothing happened when we went out for drinks a few weeks ago.”

“Wait a minute? You went out for drinks with Neil?” asked Kashal in astonishment.

“I told you that,” said Lim, raising her voice a little.

“You said you went out for drinks with a colleague, not a male colleague,” explained Kashal.

“Kashal, be real. Do I have any female friends besides Laura?” asked Lim.

“No, I suppose not,” Kashal answered.

“Look, I told Neil I have a boyfriend. I trust him not to make a move. He might be a competitive ass, but at the very least, he’s honorable,” said Lim.

“How do you know?” asked Kashal.

“What do you mean ‘how do you know’?” repeated Lim.

“You’ve known him three months, Audrey,” said Kashal.

“Well, maybe if you were home some, I wouldn’t be looking for outside companionship,” quipped Lim bitterly, “It’s been what? A good month and a half since we’ve fucked?”

“Well, I’m not the only one working all the time, Audrey,” Kashal mentioned.

“Tell you what?” said Lim, “I was going to go out with my fellow residents on Friday, but I’ll tell them I can’t make it. We can have date night that ends with…some passion, instead. How does that sound?”

Kashal squeezed her hand and said, “Well, I will admit, I miss having my girl around.”

The couple arrived back at their apartment and Lim led him into the living room. When Kashal closed the door behind him, he didn’t even get the chance to take his jacket off before Lim began to kiss him. She grinned seductively and said, “Maybe we should begin date night a few days early?”

***************************************************************************************************************************************** 

When Melendez arrived back to his apartment later that night, he flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV, channel-surfing before finally settling on re-runs of _Seinfeld_ , though he couldn’t tell anyone what was happening during any of the episodes. His mind was still reeling about earlier that day. He had finally met Kashal, Audrey’s Kashal, face to face. Kashal wasn’t as Melendez had expected him to be, though Melendez didn’t really know what he had expected out of him. Maybe it was just the fact that he now could verify that Kashal was a real, physical person. He could picture what he looked like and he was no longer some figment of his imagination. He was a tad disappointed to finally meet him, but then Melendez chastised himself for being upset. Audrey Lim had had a life before they met and if the two of them had been together since college, then obviously they were doing something right.

Once the re-runs became the 10:00 news, Melendez turned off the TV and headed to his bedroom. He checked his phone and noticed he had a message from Lim, _“I’m off tomorrow. Can you tell Chris and Melanie that I won’t be able to make it for drinks with you guys on Friday night? Thanks!”_

Melendez sighed as he deleted the message. He laid the phone on his nightstand and changed into his pajamas. He climbed into bed, though sleep eluded him for several hours. Kashal was real. Audrey really did have a boyfriend and was not available as more than a friend. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he cared. It’s not like he ever thought about dating her until he suddenly found out he couldn’t. She was his primary competition after all. Maybe it was better this way anyways. He wanted to get married and start a family once he was more settled in his career and it didn’t seem like Audrey was in a rush to do either. As he finally drifted off to sleep, he kept telling himself that his current situation was for the best.


	5. First Event

It was early December and Melendez and Lim were having lunch together in the cafeteria. They both had a short break before they had to report to Andrews to assist on a surgery. The two surgeons hadn’t said much to each other until Lim asked, “So, are you going to the holiday party next week?”

Melendez shook his head, “No.”

“Why not?” asked Lim, “It’s kind of one of those ‘unofficially mandatory’ events,” she used air quotes to make her point.

“I know,” Melendez admitted, “It’s just that I’ll look stupid because I don’t have a date.”

“It’s not prom, Neil. You don’t have to have a date,” Lim laughed.

“Easy for you to say. You have a date since you’ll bring Kashal. Melanie is bringing her fiancée. Chris won’t be attending since it’s the final night of Hanukkah and he’ll be celebrating with his family. I’ll be the only resident there without a date,” Melendez emphasized.

“So you really want a date that badly?” Lim asked him bluntly.

“Yes,” Melendez said.

“Okay,” Lim said and looked around the cafeteria, “How about her?” Lim pointed to a blonde woman sitting on the other side of the cafeteria.

“Are you nuts?” asked Melendez, “I’m pretty sure she’s the founder’s granddaughter. She’s close to Glassman and she’s the in-house attorney for St. Bonaventure. No way will she go out with a guy like me.”

“You seem to know a lot about her,” Lim commented.

Melendez sighed and said, “I heard Glassman talking to Cooperberg about her.”

“Well, you won’t know her answer until you ask her,” said Lim.

“Fine, if it’ll shut you up,” Melendez stood and walked over to the blonde woman, “Um, hi,” he said when he reached her.

She looked up at him, “Um, hello?” she half-questioned and half-answered him.

“May I have a seat?” asked Melendez nervously.

“Sure,” she gestured towards the chair across the table from her.

Melendez sat down and said, “So, um…I’m Neil by the way. Neil Melendez. Are you going to the hospital holiday party next week?”

“Yes, because it’ll look pretty bad if the in-house attorney doesn’t attend,” she responded.

“Well, I was wondering…if you maybe, you know…wanted to go together?” asked Melendez.

“Did your friend put you up to this?” the woman motioned her head towards Lim.

“Uh, kind of,” admitted Melendez, “Listen, um…”

“Jessica,” she answered, “Jessica Preston.”

“Thanks. Listen, Jessica, we don’t even have to make anything serious out of this occasion. Just so we don’t make fools of ourselves at the party. At this point, I’m the only resident attending without a date, so if you’re available…”

Jessica’s cell phone rang and she answered it, “Jessica Preston,” she listened to the voice on the other end and said, “Okay, I’ll be right there.” She quickly tore out a piece of paper from her notebook, scribbled some writing on it, and shoved it towards Melendez before quickly leaving the cafeteria. When Melendez glanced down at the writing, it read, _“Call me,”_ along with her phone number. Melendez looked across the cafeteria towards Lim, smiled, and gave a thumbs up, but when she smiled back at him, it seemed a little forced.

************************************************************************************************************************************* 

The day of the party arrived and it was already in full force by the time Lim and Kashal arrived. The St. Bonaventure ballroom was decorated for various December holidays and some Christmas music was playing in the background. They hung up their coats and Kashal turned to Lim and asked, “Did you want a drink, Audrey?”

“Would you get me a glass of bourbon, please?” she asked.

“No problem,” he kissed her cheek and went over to the open bar. Lim found one of the standing tables and leaned against it facing the door when she saw him walk into the room. Dr. Neil Melendez was dressed in a crisp black tuxedo, looking utterly handsome. He wasn’t alone, he was with that blonde woman from the cafeteria, but still, he was so…

“Audrey,” Kashal laid his hand on her shoulder, startling her a little, “Your drink?”

“Thanks,” she smiled, taking the glass from him and taking a small sip. Her gaze landed back on Melendez, who had spotted her and smiled, making his way over to them. As Melendez got closer and closer to them, Lim couldn’t help but notice how great he looked in that tux.

“Hi Audrey, hi Kashal,” Melendez greeted them both.

“Hi Neil,” Lim said softly.

Melendez stopped at the table and finally got a good look at Lim. It was the first time he had seen Lim wearing a dress or make-up and she looked absolutely stunning in her royal purple dress, “Wow, Audrey…you look amazing,” he said mesmerized and then realized Kashal was standing next to her, “You’re a very lucky man, Kashal,” he saved himself.

“That I am,” Kashal responded.

Jessica came over to the table and said, “There you are. You walked away from me. I didn’t know what you’d want, so I got you a glass of wine.”

 _“His favorite drink is a glass of bourbon,”_ Lim thought to herself.

“Oh, Audrey, Kashal, I’d like you to meet Jessica Preston. She’s the in-house attorney here at St. Bonaventure,” Melendez introduced them.

“Well, if it hadn’t been for Audrey, we wouldn’t be talking to each other right now because Neil wouldn’t have had the courage to ask me here tonight,” said Jessica.

 _“I didn’t think you’d actually accept,”_ Lim thought to herself again.

As the night wore on, Lim couldn’t help but notice how much fun Neil and Jessica were having. Not that she wasn’t either, but Kashal and she weren’t much of fancy party people. Finally, Jessica excused herself to go to the bathroom and Kashal went to get another drink, so Melendez went over to Lim and asked, “So how are you holding up?”

“Alright,” Lim shrugged her shoulders, “You and Jessica seem to be having a good time,” she commented, a hint of cattiness in her voice.

Melendez looked over at Lim and chuckled, “You’re jealous,” he commented amusingly.

“No I’m not,” Lim defended.

“Yes, you are,” said Melendez.

“No. I’m not,” said Lim firmly, “I have a boyfriend,” she added, though she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Neil or herself of that fact.

“It’s okay; I’m just messing with you,” Melendez chuckled.

“Oh, good,” said Lim.

Kashal came back over to them with another drink and leaned against the table, “Discussing anything interesting?”

Lim shook her head, “Not really,” she laid her hand on his shoulder, “Listen Kashal, it’s been a long night. Can we go home after you finish your drink?”

“Sure,” he answered and guzzled down the last of his whiskey. They both grabbed their coats went towards the exit, but Audrey didn’t leave until she locked eyes with Neil one last time.


	6. First Bet

It was about ¾ of the way through their first year of residency when one day, Glassman had all of the residents gather together in the emergency room. He was standing with Andrews and softly nodded in greeting. Once Melanie finally arrived from the locker room, Glassman said, “Good morning everyone.” 

“Good morning, Dr. Glassman,” they all responded in unison. 

“Today we have two straightforward cases, so I want us all to play a little game. The four of you are going to be divided into two teams, which Dr. Andrews and I will be leading, and the team who has higher patient satisfaction survey results will get first dibs on assisting all surgeries next week. The competition will help you foster teamwork and you’ll also come to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Do you all understand?” the residents nodded, “Alright then. Line up please,” Glassman motioned. They all did so and Glassman smiled at Lim, “My first pick is Dr. Lim.” 

_“Of course she is,”_ Melendez thought to himself, quelling the urge to roll his eyes. It was so obvious she was Glassman’s favorite resident.

After Lim joined Glassman’s side, Andrews looked between the remaining three residents and said, “Dr. Melendez.” 

“Dr. Fitzpatrick,” said Glassman. 

“Dr. Richardson,” Andrews called to the last resident waiting. 

Chris took the clipboard from Dr. Andrews and Melanie did the same from Glassman. They reported to the appropriate triage rooms while Andrews and Glassman followed them. Lim looked at Melendez and asked, “Why don’t we make this interesting? Loser owes the winner $20.” 

“You’re on, Lim,” said Melendez. He followed Chris to triage room three. 

When Lim arrived at triage room one, Glassman introduced the patient, “Patient is Ally Schmidt, twenty-eight year old female, complaining of abdominal and back pain, fatigue, frequent urination, and bloating,” he explained, “Ms. Schmidt, this is Dr. Lim and Dr. Fitzpatrick.” 

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Schmidt,” said Melanie. 

“Please, call me Ally,” said Ally. 

“Alright Ally,” said Lim, “How long have you been having abdominal pain?” 

“For about a week,” Ally answered. 

“Have you had your appendix removed?” asked Melanie. 

“No,” answered Ally. 

“How about a frequent urge to urinate?” asked Lim. 

“Some,” answered Ally. 

“Is there any chance of pregnancy?” asked Lim softly. 

“No. I mean, I had a boyfriend, but we broke up over six months ago and I haven’t been with anyone since then,” admitted Ally. 

The three physicians asked Ally a few more questions and Glassman looked at Lim and Melanie, “Well, Dr. Lim, Dr. Fitzpatrick, what do you suggest we do?” 

“Pelvic exam, ultrasound, CT scan, and blood work…sees what those results are,” said Melanie. 

“Excellent. Well, for you privacy, Ally, I will dismiss myself, and I’ll be back in a few moments,” said Glassman. 

************************************************************************************************************************************************ 

The two women performed the pelvic exam and the phlebotomist took blood to be sent to the lab. Lim got the ultrasound machine set up and began to perform the exam. The initial results didn’t look good as Ally appeared to have a mass on one of her ovaries. They went to share their results with Glassman when Melanie said to Lim, “So what’s up with you and Neil?” 

“What?” asked Lim in surprise. 

“You and Neil Melendez,” Melanie clarified. Lim rolled her eyes a little and Melanie chuckled, “Come on Audrey, I see you constantly making eyes at him.” 

“He’s a competitive asshat,” Lim quipped. 

“Girl, you are so hot for him!” said Melanie. 

“I have a boyfriend, Dr. Fitzpatrick,” Lim switched to Melanie’s formal greeting. 

“I just call it like I see it,” said Melanie. They consulted with Dr. Glassman and he ordered a CT scan for Ally. Those results confirmed what they all suspected: Ally needed surgery to test for ovarian cancer. 

The three physicians entered Ally’s room and Glassman said, “We have your CT scan results back.” 

“And?” asked Ally. 

Lim sighed and said, “The results are consistent with a mass which could possibly ovarian cancer.” 

Ally began to cry, but asked, “How will you know for sure?” 

“We’ll perform a laparoscopic surgery to remove the tumor and we’ll test to see whether it’s benign or malignant,” explained Melanie. 

“Okay,” replied Ally. 

************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

The next day, the team performed the surgery and sent Ally’s sample to the lab. Thankfully, it turned out to be a benign mass, which naturally brought Ally sheer joy. The other team’s patient had been diagnosed and treated as well, so Glassman and Andrews had their patients fill out the satisfaction surveys. 

“Well, results are in. Congratulations are in order for Dr. Lim and Dr. Fitzpatrick,” Glassman smiled proudly. Lim couldn’t help but notice the look on Melendez’s face and she smirked to herself, “I will see all of you first thing tomorrow.” 

Everyone else walked away and Lim smiled proudly, “Well, it looks like I just got $20 richer.” 

Melendez rooted around his pockets and said, “Sorry, all I have is a $1.” 

Lim scowled but took the money out of his hand, “Seriously?” Melendez shrugged, “Fine.” 

“I can buy you a drink to make it up to you,” he gave her his cocky grin. Yet somehow, Lim found it incredibly adorable. 

Lim crossed her arms over her chest, sighed, shook her head, and said, “Well, Kashal is working late tonight and I don’t have anything better to do. I’ll meet you over at Crowley’s, you asshat.” 


	7. First Dinner Patry

It was approaching the holiday season during their second year of residency when Lim was finishing up her shift. Melendez was heading towards employee parking just as she was about to leave, so she ran a little faster to catch up with him, “Neil!” she called out to him.

Melendez slowed down to let her catch up to him and asked, “Yeah?”

“Are you free on New Year’s Eve?” she asked.

“I’m working from 7 AM-3 PM, but I’m free after that. Why?” he questioned.

“Kashal and I are having a small gathering on New Year’s Eve and I was wondering if you wanted to come?” Lim invited him.

They reached Melendez’s Tesla and Melendez turned to face her, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why not?” Lim shrugged her shoulders, “It’s not that many people. Melanie and her husband are coming, Chris is coming, a few of Kashal’s co-worker’s, my friend Laura, and my brother Josh will all be there. It’s only fair that all of the second year residents are there. And you can bring a guest. Think about it,” Lim walked towards her motorcycle.

Melendez sighed and got into the driver’s seat of his car. He knew it was an innocuous party, but he still couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea of going alone. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but he just did. Suddenly, he had an idea. Lim said he was allowed to bring a guest, and he knew exactly whom he was going to bring.

************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

The day of the party arrived and Lim and Kashal had spent most of the day decorating and preparing for their guests. The party began and guests began to show up one by one, though there was one particular person whom Lim had no idea whether or not he was going to show. She kept looking at the clock and it was a half hour into the party; he still hadn’t arrived. Finally there was a knock at the door, so Lim fixed her hair and smoothed out her blouse a little before answering, “Neil,” she said happily until she realized who was standing next to him, “And Jessica,” she greeted a little less enthusiastically.

“Nice to see you again, Audrey,” Jessica said.

“You said I could bring a guest,” Melendez reminded her.

“No, I did,” said Lim, trying hard to fake excitement, “There’s food and drinks in the kitchen. Chris, Melanie, and Derek are in the living room.”

“Thanks,” said Melendez as Jessica and he went towards the kitchen. Lim sighed and closed the door, going towards the drink table and pouring herself a glass of wine. Laura came up beside her and asked, “So which one is Neil?”

“What?” asked Lim, bringing herself back to reality.

“Which one is Neil? You know, the one you talk about competing with constantly?” asked Laura.

“Um,” Lim scoured the room, “The Latino man over there with the blonde woman,” she answered, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“Wow, he’s cute,” said Laura.

“Laura, I’m with Kashal,” Lim defended, perhaps a little too much.

“I know, but I’m single,” Laura smiled.

Lim took a gulp of wine, emptying the whole glass before refilling it again, “I hate to break it to you, but I think him and Blondie are getting closer by the day.”

Lim went to find Kashal. She found him in the TV room with a few of his colleagues from work, “Hey Audrey, I was wondering where you were?”

“Talking to Laura,” she answered and kissed him.

As the hours passed, they turned on the TV so everyone could watch the ball drop, “Alright everyone, it’s almost midnight!” shouted Chris.

They began to count down, “Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. HAPPY NEW YEAR!” everyone cheered. Couples kissed and other individuals blew noise makers.

“Happy New Year, Audrey,” said Kashal.

“Happy New Year,” she smiled and kissed him.

It wasn’t long after that when everyone began to leave and Kashal went to say goodbye to a few of his friends, so Lim went out onto the back porch. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear Melendez come up behind her, “Happy New Year, Audrey,” he smiled.

She turned to face him and smiled back, “Happy New Year, Neil.”

He came up beside her and took a swig of his beer, “So what do you think is in store for us this year?”

“More challenges and competition at work, I’m sure,” she gave him a small smile, “But other than that, I don’t know.”

“Well, I actually came out here to tell you goodbye. I have to take Jessica home,” said Melendez.

“Of course,” nodded Lim.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he smiled.

“It’s what friends do,” she gave him a warm embrace, though Melendez noticed it lasted a little longer than it probably should have, “Have a good night, Neil.” It was only when Neil went inside did she notice Kashal had seen the whole thing.

************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Melendez pulled up to Jessica’s house and escorted her to her front door, “I had a really nice time tonight,” she said, “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Thank Audrey,” Melendez admitted, “She’s the one who said I could bring a guest. But I had a good time tonight too,” they stopped and they gazed into each other’s eyes, “Listen, Jessica, I know it’s way past midnight and we’ve only gone on a couple of casual dates, but…” he was stopped when Jessica’s lips met his.

They continued to kiss for a few moments before Jessica pulled back and smiled at him, “Goodnight Neil.”

************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

When Audrey entered her bedroom later that night, Kashal was already dressed in his pajamas, arms crossed over his chest. She knew what he was pissed about, so she stated, “Kashal, I can explain…”

“What? The fact that you and Neil were all touchy feely with each other out on the back porch?”

“Kashal, it was one hug…” said Lim.

“One hug, my ass,” he said angrily, “Audrey, you’ve been going out for drinks with him—alone at that, and don’t think I’m unaware of the way you look at him. The long gazes, the small smiles on your face when you talk about him. I just brush it off, but I notice. I mean for fuck’s sake, Audrey, if you want to be with him, fine, but I would appreciate if you were honest with me and dumped me first!”

“KASHAL!” Lim finally gained his attention, “Would you shut the hell up and listen to me please?” they both sat down on the bed and Lim said, “Listen, I’ve wanted to be a trauma surgeon for as long as I can remember. But over these past few years, I’ve seen people’s lives changed in the blink of an eye. I’ve witnessed gruesome injuries, observed people die two minutes after arriving at the emergency room, watched people die on the operating table, told their family members that their loved one didn’t make it or had a life-threatening illness…stuff you can’t even begin to imagine because you’re not there. I love being a doctor, but I have really rough days and Neil goes through all of that with me. Sometimes I need to vent to someone who understands what it’s like to be a surgeon. It’s also the fact that for some strange reason, we work well together and as a result, Dr. Glassman often assigns us to the same case, so we have the same experiences. But I promise you, no one will get between what we have,” she took his hand in hers, “We can’t keep doing this Kashal,” she said softly, “We have to talk more and make time for each other.” 

Kashal sighed, wrapped his arm around her, and kissed the top of her head, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she uttered, “Tell you what? Our New Year’s resolution should be to make more time for each other. Weekly date nights, more sex even if we have to schedule it, a nice surprise for each other here or there?”

“I’d like that,” he kissed her, “I’m sorry about blowing up a few minutes ago.”

“Well, speaking of more time for each other, I know a way you can make it up to me,” Lim gave a seductive grin.


End file.
